The racist chant--that went viral--sung by Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s fraternity members is causing all types of drama for the University of Oklahoma. Get the deets on "Morning Joe" hosts blaming rap music for the racist rant, Waka Flocka cancelling his show at the university, the four-star football player who de-committed from OU and the OU football captain poppin’ off in a snapchat video inside….
After a video went viral of Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s fraternity members who attend the University of Oklahoma chanting racist remarks, a series of events have followed, causing bad PR for the institution.
If you've been under a rock, a video surfaced on Sunday of SAE fraternity members on a bus chanting "there will never be a n*gga in SAE" and sang lines about hanging N-wrds from trees and more....while fist-pumping.
Soon after, Waka Flocka revealed he was disgusted by the video and decided to cancel his upcoming show at the university. He took to his Instagram and said:
This morning, the “Morning Joe” panel on MSNBC weighed in on the drama surrounding the viral video and they say rap music is to blame, namely Waka Flocka and his explicit lyrics and use of the n-word. Check it below:
Clearly, they believe a rap song with the N-word creates and/or perpetuates racism. Non-blacks singing along to a song that has the N-word in it, and even repeating the word while singing, is one thing. And folks can have that argument about who's fault it is.
But yelling and chanting original songs about lynching, killing, and exlcuiding blacks, who are referred to as N-words, is a totally different thing. And those actions are, indeed, racist. No debate needed.
A rap or hip hop song doesn't make someone a racist. And Black Twitter agrees. Following the show, Black Twitter went into overdrive with the memes using the hashtag #rapalbumsthatcausedslavery. Sometimes, folks have to deal with their frustrations through humor. Check out a few posts below:
Also....
OU is huge football school and a flagship program in the Big 12 Conference. The school doesn’t want anything to jeopardize their beloved Oklahoma Sooners football program, but it appears the recent viral video has already done so.
Four-star Oklahoma recruit Jean Delance caught wind of the video and it has changed his mind on where he wants to pursue his college football career. Just a few days after visiting OU and days before the racist chant went viral, Jean committed to the Sooners (pictured above on campus). But that soon changed once the racist video began to spread.
The offensive tackle had a change of heart and took to Twitter to announce it. He said:
— Jean Delance (@JeanDelance74) March 9, 2015
Jean also spoke with Fox 4 News, calling the video disturbing and it was the ultimate reason he changed his mind about attending OU:
We must say, we applaud this young man for taking a stand.
Also fueling the fallout fire....
Eric Striker, a current University of Oklahoma football player, aired out his frustrations in an expletive-filled rant about Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s racist chant. The senior linebacker and captain on Oklahoma's football team recorded a Snapchat video saying,
“I’m so mother f****** serious right now. SAE’s just f****d it up for all you f*****g white fraternities. F*** all you b*****s and if anything you mother f******s affiliated with it, f*** you too,” he is heard saying in the video. “Mother f*****s talk about racism don’t exist, be the same mother f*****s shaking our hand, giving us hugs, telling how you really love us. F*** you phony a** fraud a** b*****s.”
Check it above. He then issued an apology via OU defensive end Charles Tapper’s Twitter apologizing for the curse words, but he's NOT sorry for how he feels:
Eric Striker meant no harm by the snap chat.. He was angry and spoke off emotions and he is sorry for the cussing. pic.twitter.com/iKKuiz6lFt
— Charles Tapper (@Takeflightchuck) March 9, 2015
One of the two students who were expelled from OU for his role in the viral video, Parker Rice, has issued an apology. He said,
"I am deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night. It was wrong and reckless. I made a horrible mistake by joining into the singing and encouraging others to do the same. On Monday, I withdrew from the University and sadly, at this moment our family is not able to be in our home because of threatening calls as well as frightening talk on social media.
"I know everyone wants to know why or how this happened. I admit it likely was fueled by alcohol consumed at the house before the bus trip, but that's not an excuse. Yes, the song was taught to us, but that too doesn't work as an explanation.
"It's more important to acknowledge what I did and what I didn't do. I didn't say no, and I clearly dismissed an important value I learned at my beloved high school, Dallas Jesuit. We were taught to be 'Men for Others.' I failed in that regard, and in this moment, I also completely ignored the core values and ethics I learned from my parents and others."
Rice further expressed concern for the safety of his fraternity brothers. We'll keep our comments about that to ourselves:
"At this point, all I can do is be thoughtful and prayerful about my next steps, but I am also concerned about the fraternity friends still on campus," his statement said. "Apparently, they are feeling unsafe and some have been harassed by others. Hopefully, the university will protect them.
"For me, this is a devastating lesson and I am seeking guidance on how I can learn from this and make sure it never happens again. My goal for the long-term is to be a man who has the heart and the courage to reject racism whenever I see or experience it in the future.
"Thank you for your consideration of my deepest apologies for what I did."
OU President David Boren decided to expell the students and has been speaking out on his school's "zero tolerance" policy for such "threatening racist behavior." He also disbanded SAE from the campus.
If you're wondering why there is so much fallout over "one video", it's because students others have been actually complaining about the racist actions of this Fraternity (and others) for years. And their complaints have gone unheard, until now.
The OU SAE Board of Trustees states today:
"The OU SAE Board of Trustees has discovered that a horrible cancer entered into the OU chapter of SAE three to four years ago and was not immediately and totally stopped. It should have been. We are sincerely remorseful for the pain that this terrible chant has caused and would ask for your forgiveness. We are truly sorry. For the safety of the students that were involved and the students who were not involved, our desire would be for all parties to begin the healing process. We hope that this despicable situation will forever change an atmosphere that would even allow an incident like this to take place."
Photo: Getty/Jean's IG
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